Steve Simon urges Bemidji voters to turn out safely in November

Steve Simon used a Thursday night stop at Bemidji City Hall to make a practical case for the next election: Beltrami County voters should know the rules, use Minnesota’s access systems and show up in November without panic. About 60 people attended the roughly hourlong League of Women Voters of Bemidji Area event on May 21, where the secretary of state linked turnout to calm, orderly voting.

Simon framed Minnesota’s election system as a strength, not a talking point. He praised the state’s long record of high participation and pointed to same-day registration and mail-in voting as reasons Minnesota remains a national leader in turnout. He also said he wanted November to bring high turnout and low drama, and he warned that federal action could, intentionally or not, interfere with democratic processes in Minnesota. He said he was not trying to be alarmist.

The Bemidji appearance fit into a broader outreach push. The Minnesota Secretary of State’s office says Simon makes it a priority to visit all 87 counties each year so he can meet with and listen to Minnesotans, and the office says he completed his ninth statewide tour on Jan. 16, 2026. His portfolio also includes Minnesota Students Vote, the Minnesota Democracy Cup and the Your Vote Matters high school education program, along with the Safe-at-Home program.

For Bemidji voters, the calendar is now set. The city’s 2026 primary election is Tuesday, Aug. 11, and the general election is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Bemidji’s elections page lists City Hall as the Ward 4 polling location, putting the city building itself at the center of local voting for part of town. In Beltrami County, election officials certify results through the county canvassing board before reporting unofficial results to the Secretary of State’s office in Saint Paul.

Those mechanics matter because turnout is not an abstract statistic in Minnesota. State data show 3,272,414 people voted in the 2024 general election, and the Secretary of State’s office estimated turnout at about 76 percent. In a county where election administration, polling locations and certification rules shape how quickly votes are counted and trusted, Simon’s message was simple and pointed: the system works best when voters use it.